US Operation to Capture Sinaloa Cartel Leaders Received Assistance from 'El Chapo's' Son, Official Reveals

 

Mexican Drug Kingpin Allegedly Behind US Fentanyl Crisis Arrested with Help from Cartel Insider

A notorious Mexican drug kingpin, suspected of flooding the United States with deadly fentanyl and evading authorities for decades, is now in US custody. According to a US law enforcement official, federal agents lured him across the border with the help of another alleged cartel leader who assisted in the capture.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 76, alleged co-founder and leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced. At his first federal court appearance in El Paso on Friday, Zambada entered a not-guilty plea to all charges, which include continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering. He is being held without bond and agreed to waive his right to personally appear and to request bond at a hearing set for July 31.

Another alleged cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, was also arrested. Guzman Lopez is the son of the cartel’s infamous co-founder and former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently serving a life sentence in a US prison.

Zambada and Guzman Lopez were reportedly on a plane, believing they were inspecting property in Mexico near the US border. Unbeknownst to Zambada, US investigators had exploited a rift within the Sinaloa cartel, and Guzman Lopez was cooperating with authorities. The plane landed near El Paso, where FBI agents arrested both men.

“Two individuals got off the plane ... and were calmly taken into custody,” said a worker at the Santa Teresa airport near El Paso, who declined to share his name for safety reasons. “It seemed like a pretty calm, arranged thing.”

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday demanded a full report from the US government on the operation that led to the arrests, emphasizing the need for transparency. He also mentioned that Mexican officials were informed of the arrests through a phone call from the US Embassy in Mexico on Thursday afternoon. 

"The Mexican government did not participate in this detention or surrender," said Mexico’s secretary of security, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, during the president’s daily news conference. Based on information from Mexico’s National Immigration Institute, Rodriguez stated the men traveled from Hermosillo, Mexico, to Santa Teresa airport in Texas.

In the US, both Zambada and Guzman Lopez face several charges related to leading the cartel’s operations, including manufacturing and trafficking fentanyl. Garland emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”

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